
Sound of the Mountain
is a 1954 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse. It is based on the novel The Sound of the Mountain by Nobel Prize winner Yasunari Kawabata. Naruse declared Sound of the Mountain one of his favourites of his films.
Plot
Shingo, an aging businessman, sees the marriage of his son Shuichi and his daughter-in-law Kikuko, who live in the same household, fall apart due to Shuichi's coldness and adulterous behaviour. Flattered by Kikuko's overt adoration for him, he tries to act as a cornerstone for her. His own daughter Fusako, who left her husband and moved back into her parents' home with her children, blames Shingo for her arranged and failed marriage and for his preference of Kikuko over her. Shingo accompanies Kikuko to a hospital visit, only to learn later that she aborted the child she expected from Shuichi. A secretary from Shingo's company helps him to find Kinu, Shuichi's mistress and an independent businesswoman, who tells him of his son's abusive behaviour. Kikuko finally decides to divorce her husband and, meeting Shingo in a park, tells her father-in-law that she wants to try to live a life on her own.
More details
author | Yasunari Kawabata |
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director | Mikio Naruse |
editor | Eiji Ooi |
genre | drama |
keywords | failed marriage hospital visit meet |
musicBy | Ichirō Saitō |
producer | Sanezumi Fujimoto |
productionCompany | Toho |
publisher | Toho |
theme | japanese |